WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to unveil economic policies to support small businesses during a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
Harris will advocate for expanding the tax deduction on business start-up costs to $50,000 from the current $5,000, according to a campaign official. She will also introduce a standard business deduction to streamline tax filing for entrepreneurs.
Congress holds the power to amend tax laws, making the changes dependent on the outcome of the November elections and which party controls the House and Senate. Key provisions from the 2017 tax law are set to expire in 2025, requiring the next Congress to overhaul the tax code.
The announcement aligns with Harris’ vision for an “opportunity economy” that includes an expanded child tax credit up to $6,000, $25,000 in down payment aid for first-time home buyers, and measures against “price gouging” by large corporations, which she blames for high grocery prices, she told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Middle-class message
Harris, running alongside Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has focused on supporting the middle class. The former California attorney general will also propose various measures to encourage small business growth, aiming for 25 million new business applications if elected.
These proposals include easing licensing for interstate business expansion, urging state and local governments to reduce regulations, granting more federal contracts to small businesses, and creating a fund for community banks to cover interest costs for businesses in underinvested regions.
Harris will make additional campaign stops this week, including a return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, where she and President Joe Biden campaigned for organized labor on Labor Day.
Republican nominee Donald Trump is scheduled for a town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday and a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, on Saturday.
Trump criticized Biden and Harris on Truth Social, blaming their leadership for high prices, writing, “all Americans are suffering during this Holiday weekend – High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up, and Grocery Prices are through the roof. We can’t keep living under this weak and failed ‘Leadership.’”
U.S. presidents do not set transportation or grocery prices.
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